Saturday, March 27, 2010

After showing you the beautiful homes in Charleston (YESTERDAY'S POST), I wanted to share more from Charleston, SC with you today. We were there in June of '08 and the Crepe Myrtles were in bloom and gorgeous. You can see some in the top photo. People tell me that Spring is the best time to go because of the Azaleas which are in bloom then. More photos are below.

See the fern growing on this Live Oak tree? It is called Resurrection Fern... Interesting, huh?

For all of you gardeners out there, how do you like this landscaping???? Note the ivy (or ground cover) even on the steps!!!!! Wooooooo!

Looks like this house is going through some renovation. BUT--that's not why I included it. I wanted to show you the DOOR. I didn't know this, but many Charleston homes have a 'false' door---which only leads onto the porch area , and not into the home itself.

What material is this house made from???? Stone???? Well---NO. People who build (or renovate) homes in Charleston 'try' to keep these homes in the Charleston historic style. This home is 'really' WOOD... But, it is made to look like stone. Interesting, huh????

When George and I visit places, we try to find out everything we can about the area. This little tidbit is interesting I think. After the huge earthquake in 1886, the older homes in Charleston got 'earthquake rods' --which helped straighten the walls of the houses. See the rod running across this home? Did you know this? I didn't before that trip.

This picture is a tad blurry ---but I wanted you to see the turnbuckle where the rods can be adjusted to reenforce homes that were damaged or cracked by the earthquake.

Finally, here is a picture taken from the Battery of Fort Sumpter. We didn't get out to Fort Sumpter while we were there --but George has been there. Neal and family visited there recently.

Charleston is really a gorgeous, old southern city. Visit it if you get a chance--and while you are there, ask questions and learn about the things you see. I personally spent WAY too many years ignoring so much around me...

Hugs,

P.S. I found a new gadget on Blogger yesterday which I hadn't noticed before. It's a "Search" gadget. I put it on my sidebar, and asked it to search my blog only. SO--if you are looking for all of my posts on something specific (such as Tallulah Gorge or Bluebirds), you can type that into the search box, and they will come up for you. I have been yearning for some kind of index (other than the labels), or a table of contents. This is at least a start!!!!!